Trading without a traders forum

Rick

Trader
Well I very much enjoy being part of this forum and feel that I have a lot to contribute in both knowledge of ownership for 8.5 years and my knowlege of certain parts which I seem to have a knack of finding.

As I said before, can it ever be a bad thing to have somebody who is a proven good seller being able to find good parts for the forum members which are always in high demand? Surely that is something that actually benefits the forum members.

What is admin's feelings about the possibility of having a frequent sellers account? That would fill the gap between very occasional sellers and full on traders who do that for their living. Personally I am more than willing to contribute to the cost of running the site and feel that a frequent sellers account is a great idea.

Providing a great service for the guys on here is something I get a real kick out of and you will find me on this site probably 40 times a day. I love getting PM's at 2:30 in the morning and answering them to make sure that I get back to somebody asap.

Also I totally agree with the thoughts of the admin team which is to protect the forum members as much as possible from rogue sellers such as Kitaro etc. But the Kitaro and Toytuning situation is a pretty rare and extreme case and I feel that the new rules are a little bit overkill and are preventing the members getting the most they can from this forum. Please correct me if I am wrong but I'm pretty sure that the classified section is the most visited area of this forum. Therefore, the more parts available for members, the better this forum will be.

In summary, in my opinion, the perfect solution to this problem is to have a frequent sellers account which obviously has a higher membership fee and a dedicated feedback area. Obviously if there are any problems this will no doubt be highlighted to admin who can then be there to spot potential problems very early. I don't think there would be many frequent sellers and therefore think that it will not take much policing and will make this forum a much better place. As far as a fee goes, maybe it could be 50-75% of the cost of a full traders account.

What is the thoughts of the admin team on this?
 

gv1.3

Admin
Hi Rick, thanks for the feedback on this.

My thoughts on the addition of a "frequent Seller" status is that other than charging less for the selling rights there is not much difference.

You have to understand mate that the easiest thing in the world for us to do is accept every person that applies to be a trader. That would yield maximum amount of money for TGTT and would make sure there were 100 or so traders to choose from. We decided a while back to be VERY selective in whom we do and do not allow trade on here. There are a few reasons for this, the main reasons being:

  • Ability of staff to actively monitor performance of a large group of traders
  • Stimulate competition without swamping the market
  • Set a very high standard of selling

We reviewed your application Rick and you were informed by numerous members of the staff team that your application had been declined. I know you say that you are simply assisting the community by finding difficult to get parts and that is admirable but we do already have traders who do that, enough to create competition but not so many that no-one can make any money.

You may feel we are very strict with the rules we have in place but I think we are very fair. If it were the case that you had a few BOV's lying around and wanted to sell them do you honestly think we would have an issue with that? Seriously mate we would not. If you happen to be able to supply any one of a number of BOV's and you are not a trader then yes we will have a word with you.

Without naming names we had a member recently who was breaking many cars one after the other. He put a new thread up for his latest breaker and we had a word. He had bought the car to break and we were not going to land him with a car but told him to make it his last, we try to take a measured response.

I dont agree with the idea of a frequent seller status for the simple reason that at present we have no issue with people selling frequently in the classifieds section so long as they are not selling the same items frequently and obviously making profit at the same time - that is trading.

If you wish to apply for a trader position again we would welcome that but remember that we receive a serious amount of applications and unless yours stands out from the crowd and offers something unique or of particular benefit to the community it is unlikely to get you a traders account.

You also have the option of approaching existing traders and partnering with them to sell items if they wish to partner with you or selling via ebay.

All applications are put before our team of staff for feedback and pros/cons weighed up before a decision is made. Currently we have a backlog of applications which we are getting through.
 

Phil

Super Moderator
flip spot the mature conversation in here, nice to see both sides of this issue!

but hey its just one of those things. some grey areas arent easy to clear up but its refreshing to hear things discussed in a adult manner.

Phil
 
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Rick

Trader
I can see the points you are making Dylan and I agree with some and disagree with others. I can't ever see the Market getting flooded with used parts and the very nature of the parts being used makes almost all of them pretty unique.

I suppose I can only really comment on my own situation and I feel that I am a pretty unique case. As I am one of the longest serving members on this forum gives me a pretty good case for being trustworthy. Also I have very hood feedback from the items I have sold.

I just suppose that I am a bit frustrated as I loved providing a service and it worked really well and I really miss doing it.

I can see it from both angles but I still feel that if somebody has proven themselves to be trustworthy and are willing to pay the relevent fee I can't see a reason to not be given a chance at least.

Either way it is nice to be able to discuss this issue.
 

gv1.3

Admin
I want to bump this thread up as some users still refuse to heed this warning. We have and will ban members who persistently trade without being a trader.

Our traders pay to sell on here and should not have to compete with people running business via PM and via the classifieds section.
 

gv1.3

Admin
One more bump for those who have not yet seen this.

If people continuously insist on trading without a traders forum despite repeated requests to cease they leave us with no option but to ban them.

This is a very simple rule, there is no grey area. Attempts to trade without a trading forum will not be tolerated.

Please take heed to this, the worst job any member of staff on this site has to do is ban a member.
 
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